us,” Cara added. “We’ll trade off shifts. So he’ll be there, too—you know, part of the time.”
Which she had to admit was sort of devious of her, since she knew Hayley had a big crush on Max.
But this was about getting their mother back. Desperate measures…
“Oh,” said Hayley and nodded. “OK, then.”
They went to a pool that belonged to one of Max’s friends, whose parents were off at work, and practiced with the scuba gear for a couple of hours, mostly in the deep end. It made Cara nervous, but Jax liked dealing with the equipment; he was always a quick study. The tanks were surprisingly heavy, she thought, and you had to trust that other people knew how to fill them off a big machine and then carefully check them—Max, in this case. Who had been diving with Cory for years but still didn’t have his certification.
Then they spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for beach camping, which Jax solemnly informed them was against the law. Or at least Park Service rules. They’d have to be stealthy and sneak down after dark, and just hope that no rangers would come driving along the beach in their Park Service jeeps to notice them.
The gear needed to be ready and stowed in their big, external-frame backpacks before Lolly got there to make dinner so there was no chance of her noticing anything.
“Why don’t we set the tent up under the trees on the cliffs, overlooking the beach?” suggested Cara. “Not far from the parking lot, so it’s easy to get to in the dark. And it’s not right at the water, in fact it’s a long way up, so that makes it harder for him to get to us.”
The three of them were in the garage digging up camping gear from previous years, when the family had made road trips out West to hike in the red-rock country of Utah and near the Grand Canyon. Cara remembered her mother laughing as the wind tossed one of their picnics into the air—running, as she held Cara’s hand, through a high alpine meadow where there were purple lupines.…
This summer, of course, there’d been no road trips.
“From up on the bluffs we’ll definitely have a view of the water,” she pressed. “A better view. We can see way further out from up there. So if the glow’s all the way out at the shipwreck, say?—and doesn’t come up to the waterline, we’ll still be able to spot it. And there’ll be less chance anyone will catch us.”
Human or otherwise , she thought.
Max was rolling up sleeping bags and pads and stowing them in the back of the car. He thought they should take those along in case their friends got bored and wanted to crash; the four-person tent had a clear-mesh door flap, so the others could just lie down while Cara or Max kept a lookout.
“You’re probably right,” he said. “Plus, if we hit paydirt, and we have to call Zee to bring the boat out, we get better cell coverage up there, too.”
“’Course the downside,” said Jax, “is you’ll have more mosquitoes.”
“Note to self: pack bug juice,” said Max.
The garage was dusty, with cobwebs clinging to the boxes of battery-powered lanterns and lightweight cooking equipment. Cara brushed them off and wiped her hands on her jeans.
“So, here’s how we’ll do it,” said Max. “I’ll drive over early and pitch the tent, OK? I’ll leave the bags and pads in there, flashlights and lantern, drinks, insect repellent”—he looked down at the pile of gear, nodding as he took stock of what they’d need—“and some snacks. Also extra batteries for the lantern, cause we wouldn’t want to run out of light. After I set it all up, I come back and we all have dinner with Lolly and act like normal kids.”
“Act like,” said Cara.
“Then, as soon as Lolly goes home, you and Hayley take off on the bikes. Me and the guys’ll come relieve you at one in the morning, in the car. We’ll do the rest of the night shift. It’s no problem. Keat wants to play poker with nickels. But we all gotta sync up our
Which she had to admit was sort of devious of her, since she knew Hayley had a big crush on Max.
But this was about getting their mother back. Desperate measures…
“Oh,” said Hayley and nodded. “OK, then.”
They went to a pool that belonged to one of Max’s friends, whose parents were off at work, and practiced with the scuba gear for a couple of hours, mostly in the deep end. It made Cara nervous, but Jax liked dealing with the equipment; he was always a quick study. The tanks were surprisingly heavy, she thought, and you had to trust that other people knew how to fill them off a big machine and then carefully check them—Max, in this case. Who had been diving with Cory for years but still didn’t have his certification.
Then they spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for beach camping, which Jax solemnly informed them was against the law. Or at least Park Service rules. They’d have to be stealthy and sneak down after dark, and just hope that no rangers would come driving along the beach in their Park Service jeeps to notice them.
The gear needed to be ready and stowed in their big, external-frame backpacks before Lolly got there to make dinner so there was no chance of her noticing anything.
“Why don’t we set the tent up under the trees on the cliffs, overlooking the beach?” suggested Cara. “Not far from the parking lot, so it’s easy to get to in the dark. And it’s not right at the water, in fact it’s a long way up, so that makes it harder for him to get to us.”
The three of them were in the garage digging up camping gear from previous years, when the family had made road trips out West to hike in the red-rock country of Utah and near the Grand Canyon. Cara remembered her mother laughing as the wind tossed one of their picnics into the air—running, as she held Cara’s hand, through a high alpine meadow where there were purple lupines.…
This summer, of course, there’d been no road trips.
“From up on the bluffs we’ll definitely have a view of the water,” she pressed. “A better view. We can see way further out from up there. So if the glow’s all the way out at the shipwreck, say?—and doesn’t come up to the waterline, we’ll still be able to spot it. And there’ll be less chance anyone will catch us.”
Human or otherwise , she thought.
Max was rolling up sleeping bags and pads and stowing them in the back of the car. He thought they should take those along in case their friends got bored and wanted to crash; the four-person tent had a clear-mesh door flap, so the others could just lie down while Cara or Max kept a lookout.
“You’re probably right,” he said. “Plus, if we hit paydirt, and we have to call Zee to bring the boat out, we get better cell coverage up there, too.”
“’Course the downside,” said Jax, “is you’ll have more mosquitoes.”
“Note to self: pack bug juice,” said Max.
The garage was dusty, with cobwebs clinging to the boxes of battery-powered lanterns and lightweight cooking equipment. Cara brushed them off and wiped her hands on her jeans.
“So, here’s how we’ll do it,” said Max. “I’ll drive over early and pitch the tent, OK? I’ll leave the bags and pads in there, flashlights and lantern, drinks, insect repellent”—he looked down at the pile of gear, nodding as he took stock of what they’d need—“and some snacks. Also extra batteries for the lantern, cause we wouldn’t want to run out of light. After I set it all up, I come back and we all have dinner with Lolly and act like normal kids.”
“Act like,” said Cara.
“Then, as soon as Lolly goes home, you and Hayley take off on the bikes. Me and the guys’ll come relieve you at one in the morning, in the car. We’ll do the rest of the night shift. It’s no problem. Keat wants to play poker with nickels. But we all gotta sync up our
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